A framework for the evaluation of marine spatial data infrastructures - Accompanied by international case-studies

Abstract

In Germany currently the development of a marine data infrastructure takes place with the aim of merging information concerning different topics such as coastal engineering, hydrography and surveying, protection of the marine environment, maritime conservation, regional planning and coastal research. This undertaking is embedded in a series of regulations and developments on many administrative levels from which specifications and courses of action derive. To set up a conceptual framework for the marine data infrastructure (MDI-DE) scientists at the Professorship for Geodesy and Geoinformatics at Rostock University are building a reference model, evaluating meta-information systems and developing models to support common workflows in marine applications.

Evaluating how other countries built their marine spatial infrastructures is of main importance to learn where obstacles are and errors are likely to occur. To be able to look at other initiatives from a neutral point of view it is necessary to construct a framework for evaluating marine spatial data infrastructures. This framework is then used to analyse and evaluate the efforts of Canada, Australia and Ireland with respect to marine data infrastructures.